Custer Before The Battle example essay topic

Imagine yourself on a battlefield fighting 2000 armed to the teeth Indians with only 650 men on your side, trying to win what you know will be your last battle (Donovan 188). "Whoosh!" An arrow whizzes right past you and hits your fellow soldier. That's what it was like in the Battle of Little Bighorn, where the Lakota, Sioux, and Cheyenne killed George Armstrong Custer, a very brave general, on June 25, 1876 (Connell 1). Previously, Custer and his men were actively involved in genocide against the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians for years.

The Indians were outraged over the continued intrusions of whites onto their sacred lands, so they defiantly left their reservations (Connell 1). That really upset Custer because he had no intention of allowing the Indians to scatter. He decided to attack them, once and for all. But what he did not know was that the battle he was about to fight was going to be one of the biggest tragedies of that time.

General George McClellan had appointed the 23-year-old George Armstrong Custer as brigadier general in charge of a Michigan cavalry, which grew over time (Custer's Last Stand 1). He remains the youngest general in history. He was so hateful against the Indians that most of his times was spent killing them. In conclusion, the Indians would not allow Custer to massacre any more of their people, so they planned a huge ambush. Custer was given specific orders from General Alfred Terry, a military commander of the Dakota Territory, to stay together and proceed up to the Rosebud Creek, while not killing anyone. Instead of staying together near the Rosebud, Custer split his men into three battalions and headed north.

Colonel John Gibbon, who found himself repeadetly on the battle lines that helped American history take form, was under Terry's command. He was to march east from Fort Ellis, Montana. Terry himself was to head a second column, which included Custer, west from Fort Abraham in North Dakota. The third column was under command of Crook, a well-trained Indian fighter who betrayed the Indians and fought against them. He was to move north into Montana from Fort Fetter man in Wyoming. Converging from opposite directions, the troops would trap the Indians in the middle, or so it was planned (Halliburton 43).

The third column was held back. Neither Terry nor Gibbon was aware that it was out of action, but Custer was so stubborn that he did not care what the truth was. That tragic flaw ended in killing him and his men. Custer led the Seventh Cavalry, which included 27 officers, about 575 enlisted men, 43 Indian scouts, and a dozen civilians (Donovan 145). Brigadier General Frederick W. Benteen was quick to speak up about it. He would rather stay together.

He said to Custer, "Hadn't we better keep the regiment together, General? If this is as big a camp as they say, we " ll need every man we have". (Donovan 149). Custer simply replied with, "You have your orders". (Donovan 149).

After hard fighting with the Indians who had destroyed Custer, the Indians retreated and Benteen and his small command were rescued. In the end, Custer should have obeyed General Alfred Terry's orders. On May 17, 1876, General Custer led his men of the Seventh U.S. Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory (Custer's Last Stand 1). First of all, he led a strike force of about 657 men against the Lakota, Sioux, and Cheyenne Indians in southeastern Montana (Creitz 1). Custer thought he would win the battle when he said to his men, "Hold your horses in boys, there are plenty of them down there for all of us!" (Creitz 1).

After sighting the Little Bighorn encampment, he said to his cavalry men, "Courage, boys, we " ve got them. As soon as we get through, we will go back to our station". (Donovan 164). He seriously underestimated them. There were 1800-2000 Indians and they were well equipped (Donovan 188). He split his men into three groups, which was not a good decision.

There was a note written to Benteen saying: "Benteen - Come on. Big Village. Be quick. Bring packs. -W.W. Cooke. P.S. Bring packs".

(Creitz 1). The note did not get to Benteen in time so Custer and his men, including his own brother, were killed within an hour. Benteen was fighting somewhere else, and what he said to his men was, "This is groundhog case, men. It is live or die, we must fight it out". (Donovan 179-180).

In conclusion, many people died in the Battle of Little Bighorn. The Battle of Little Bighorn was one of the biggest defeats of the U.S. Army by the Plains Indians. Boyer, who was well acquainted with the Indians for a long time, approached Custer before the battle and said, "General, I have been with these Indians for thirty years, and this is the largest village I have ever heard of". (Donovan 148). No one could remember ever having seen such a large gathering of Indians. After the battle, Custer was found with a bullet in his head, a bullet in his left side, and a slash on his leg (Connell 1).

The slash in the leg was a traditional way of showing that someone has been slain by the Indians. It was like a trademark for the Indians. Most of the bodies found were mutilated beyond recognition. After the battle was over, the tribes fell apart and it was the beginning of the end for the Indians. Although it was the Indians' greatest victory, it was not expected for them to break up afterwards. In conclusion, the Battle of Little Bighorn was a major mark in history for the Plains Indians.

In honor of the Battle of Little Bighorn, a monument was built near Crow Agency, Montana (Custer's Last Stand 1). It is still there today, and is open to visitors that want to see what it was like. At the monument, there are pictures of what it was like during the battle. They built it, perhaps, because it represented the beginning of the end for the Indians. Furthermore, the Battle of Little Bighorn was a very bloody battle and hundreds of people were murdered. No one could remember seeing so many people fighting (Krehbiel 18).

In memory of this event, the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument was built in honor of all those who died. History books will tell you that George Armstrong Custer was one of the bravest, youngest, and most abhorrent generals in history (Connell 1). He killed thousands of innocent Indians with no apparent reason. Because the Indians were fed up with the white intrusions on their lands they left their reservations, which upset Custer. His plan to hunt them down backfired and he was killed.

His poor strategy, which involved disobeying Terry's orders by splitting in three divisions, caused his demise. It ended up being the biggest victory for the Plains Indians and resulted in the Little Bighorn National Monument being built (Custer's Last Stand 1). In conclusion, George Armstrong Custer will go down in history as a brilliant, young general who let his ego ultimately result in his destruction.